Metal Exchange Corp. opens trading office in Singapore

St. Louis-based Metal Exchange Corp. (MEC) has announced that it has opened a trading office in Singapore, MEC Global Trading Pte Ltd., to serve the South and Southeast Asia markets.

Craig Weber, global business manager, will lead MEC Global Trading. He has 24 years of experience with MEC and previously established the Zurich trading office and the Shanghai representative office.

“Establishing a presence in Singapore will enhance the access and expertise of MEC to deliver results for our trading partners,” Weber says. “With the ever-changing metals environment, Singapore puts MEC in the center of Southeast Asia markets, closer to our customer base and set up for our continued growth plan.”

He adds, “Metal Exchange Corp.’s Trading Division is committed to providing superior service for its customers and suppliers in the nonferrous metals market.”

Ben Evans, MEC Trading Division president, says, “We believe it is important to be physically present in the markets we serve. Opening this office is another important step to allow us to continue providing the level of service our trading partners expect and deserve.”

Rick Merluzzi, MEC president and chief operating officer, says the company’s expanded presence in Asia is part of its overall global strategy. “Opening this office in Singapore benefits the global market and adds to our strong global network.”

Founded in 1974, MEC is a privately held company. It is the parent company of Pennex Aluminum Co., Continental Aluminum, Metal Exchange and Electro Cycle, operating six U.S. manufacturing facilities in addition to its sales offices throughout the U.S. and abroad. Its business includes marketing, trading, manufacturing, processing, distribution and transportation services for nonferrous metals.

Additionally, the APR announced a partnership with the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) to further expand options for champion companies to increase their PCR usage through polystyrene (PS) applications. FPI sponsored the development of a list of PS PCR vendor companies that will be added to the current vendor listing on the APR website and supported the recruitment of new APR Recycling Demand Champion companies.

“We welcome the opportunity to partner with FPI to expand the options that Demand Champion companies have to achieve their commitment,” says Liz Bedard, director of the APR Rigid Plastic Recycling Program, in a news release announcing the program expansion. “APR Recycling Demand Champions commit to boost the current demand for PCR (postconsumer resin)—it is all about new demand.”

The campaign includes any and all new uses of PCR. This can be achieved through purchasing recycled-content-containing “work in process” (WIP) goods used in manufacturing facilities, developing a new application for PCR as well as an increase in PCR usage in a current application.

“Due to current market conditions, the critical need for an increase in demand has become glaringly apparent,” Bedard says. “Within 12 months of becoming a Demand Champion, those companies must purchase or manufacture PCR containing item(s) and report to APR.”

All data submitted to APR remains confidential but are aggregated and developed into a reporting tool that will be released in October of each year. The October 2018 APR Recycling Demand Champions Annual Report is available here.

“APR began recruiting companies to commit to the campaign in 2017,” says Steve Alexander, president and CEO of APR. “We are pleased that the number of companies continues to expand each year, and we look forward to working with them to expand the market for mixed residential plastics, increase the demand for postconsumer recycled resins and enhancing the plastics recycling industry.”

EcoGlobal plans for second production plant

Netherlands and Chelsea, Vermont-based EcoGlobal is one of the nine companies selected for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) Colorado NextCycle program, which provides funding and resources to entities interested in turning recovered materials into marketable products.

Founded in 2013, EcoGlobal is a social enterprise company that uses Ekopolimer technology to convert low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastics, such as plastic bags, into Ekomats, a “multipurpose mat” used in various applications and industries, including construction and parks and recreation.

To be eligible for the pilot program, EcoGlobal pitched its idea to open a second production line to manufacture Ekomats in the U.S. and divert more single-use plastics from oceans and landfills.

NextCycle aims to help Colorado meet waste diversion goals, which would double the state’s recycling rate to 45 percent by 2036. EcoGlobal and the other teams will pitch their ideas at the state’s recycling conference in June for a chance to receive funding to implement their business proposals in Colorado.

The following is a Q&A with EcoGlobal CEO Caleb Rick about the company’s North America expansion plans:

Recycling Today (RT): What is EcoGlobal's growth story over the past few years?

Caleb Rick (CR): Since 2013, our company’s focus is North American expansion of Ekopolimer, a durable, recyclable material that extends the life of single-use plastics. Ekopolimer-based products are currently produced in Europe. We began to import and sell one of our products (Ekomats) in the U.S. and Canada last year.

RT: How are Ekomats manufactured?

CR: Most single-use plastics currently go to the landfill, yet the underlying durability and stability of LDPE is worthy of recapture and reuse. Ekopolimer adds decades of life for the material, which can be used in a variety of products and applications.

The manufacturing process is mechanical reactive-extrusion of waste LDPE plastic mixed with filler and producing a dough-like material (Ekopolimer), which is hydraulically pressed into molds.

Our standard domestic production line diverts more than 14,400 tons of mixed film and 4,000 tons of mixed glass annually.

RT: What are the expansion plans for Ekomats?

CR: Our current production expansion plan includes Vermont, Florida, Colorado, Northern California, Alberta and British Columbia. A single production line will divert and convert the equivalent of 2 billion plastic shopping bags each year.

Sourcing and converting hard-to-process ocean plastics into transportation pallets is part of our expansion plan. Our sourcing strategy is informed through collaboration with Ministry of Waste and other participants from the Klosters Forum on Ocean Plastics.

RT: How does the company plan to use the $5,000 NextCycle grant?

CR: The NextCycle grant, combined with other financial and resource support from the state, will enable site, feedstock and market planning for Colorado production expansion.

EREF issues targeted RFP on PFAS management

The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF), Raleigh, North Carolina, board of directors has identified a high-priority research topic in the area of managing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and has issued a request for pre-proposals (RFP) on the topic to support the long-term needs and strategic direction of the solid waste industry.

Residential recycling is an integral component of an integrated solid waste management system, but there are still knowledge gaps revolving around this aspect of waste management. Recycling is significantly affected by human behavior, which is a driving factor in the recovery of materials and program performance. There is a need to understand how to optimize processing, enhance material recyclability, and develop adequate and durable end markets. Beyond these facets, the demonstration of the overall value of residential recycling in terms of sustainability and economics is not well documented.

PFAS are a group of compounds that are manmade and are commonly used in industrial processes and consumer products such as food packaging, fire-fighting foams, metal plating, outdoor gear, popcorn bags, food wrappers, facial moisturizers, mattresses, carpeting and cookware. Despite the widespread use of PFAS in everyday products, there are still significant knowledge gaps associated with the management of these compounds. Although consumer and industrial products have been identified as containing PFAS, there have been limited studies that focus on the inventory of the specific types of products that contain PFAS which ultimately end up as waste materials, discharged to wastewater treatment plants, or in other potential sinks. As regulations are being developed there needs to be sound science to address the many facets related to the management of PFAS-associated wastes.

For the purposes of this RFP, the foundation says PFAS can include their associated precursors, transformation products and byproducts. At a minimum, the focus should be on the most commonly monitored compounds that have standards or guidance values in place or being developed. Examples include, but are not limited to: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoro-octane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), per- and poly-fluoropolyethers (PFPE), perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), per- and poly-fluorinated carboxylic acids, and GenX.

The management of PFAS-associated wastes can be through conventional pathways such as landfilling, recycling, composting, thermal conversion (i.e., incineration) and anaerobic digestion. Within these management pathways, a focus should include, where applicable, liquid (e.g., leachate and gas condensate) and gaseous (e.g., landfill gas) emissions. Groundwater quality associated with these management pathways are also applicable within this RFP. Other compounds of emerging concern (CEC) will not be considered (e.g., pharmaceuticals, hormones and endocrine disruptors). Pre-proposals related to other CEC should be submitted as part of the general RFP.

Research focus areas

Submissions of scientific research pre-proposals related to the management of PFAS are invited in the following areas:

Identification of sources and sinks of PFAS

identification and estimation of the quantity of PFAS in products and/or waste materials that make up significant sources in the waste streams to landfill (e.g., consumer products, manufacturing residues, wastewater treatment sludge, industrial sludge, paper production and recycling sludges, and

(e.g., landfill and anaerobic digester gas) and their variability across the solid waste industry

management practices for reducing PFAS in landfill leachate

estimating the significance of landfill emissions relative to other significant PFAS sources

Development of analytical techniques to detect and quantify PFAS

rapid field tests or enhanced laboratory methods to detect (screen) and quantify PFAS (existing techniques are time-consuming and complex) in leachate and landfill gas

applicability of existing leaching methods to adequately simulate the mobility of PFAS from associated consumer/industrial products within landfills

Fate and transport in solid waste management environments

conditions that impact the mobility of PFAS from consumer/industrial products to liquid and gaseous phases (e.g., pH, pressure, temperature, age of waste)

stabilization methods to minimize the transport of PFAS compounds to leachate

Treatability

on-site approaches to remove PFAS from liquid and gaseous emissions (approaches should also include the management of reject streams, where applicable)

demonstration of preferred management pathways that are based on reducing potential environmental burdens

Pre-proposals submitted in response to this RFP should consider the focus areas noted herein. Projects and research previously funded by the foundation can be viewed on its website. Previously awarded grants have ranged from $15,000 to over $500,000 with the average grant amount in recent years being $160,000. Typical project durations are about 2 years. Research proposals in excess of $300,000 or longer than 3 years should provide sufficient detail to justify a larger budget or duration.

The submittal deadline for this RFP is 5 pm EST on May 1. The full RFP can be downloaded at www.erefdn.org.

Going full circle

Eastman, Kingsport, Tennessee, is the most recent company to announce a chemical recycling solution for end-of-life plastics. The company’s process uses methanolysis, which broadly involves treating polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with methanol under pressure and with heat, resulting in its depolymerization. The process yields dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and ethylene glycol (EG).

Ron Sheppard, director of corporate innovation, says the DMT and EG that result from Eastman’s methanolysis technology, which he refers to as “advanced circular recycling,” can be refined and purified to their original quality.

“Eastman has been a DMT producer since the 1960s; we understand how to produce and purify this product,” he says.

The company uses traditional process technology to accomplish the methanolysis, Sheppard says, but he adds that he’s unable to go into the exact details because Eastman is in the process of filing intellectual property regarding the process.

Meeting consumer expectations

Consumer demands and the issue of mismanaged end-of-life plastics are factors that have contributed to Eastman’s move to commercialize this technology.

“I’ve been in the industry for 24 years, and people have always been talking about sustainability since I’ve been in the industry in different forms,” says Courtland Jenkins, Eastman business director of specialty plastics. “What has changed is that consumers are actually making purchase decisions based on sustainability, and that’s probably the biggest change that I’ve seen in the last few years. This is causing brands to incorporate sustainability into their corporate, their brand and their product strategy.”

He continues, “That’s why I think it is the right time to do this. The consumer is using their influence to really change the behaviors of the marketplace.”

Holli Alexander, strategic initiatives manager, global sustainability, Eastman, says brands in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector are setting goals to increase the recyclability of their plastic packaging and to use more recycled content by 2025. “As all of this is starting to coalesce, we’re starting to recognize that traditional mechanical recycling may not be enough to get us to those types goals. So, we are very excited to start to see how we can leverage the technology in a marketplace that will be receptive to and will need this technology to help to create the right types of products that will help some of these products get to 100 percent recycled content.”

Jenkins says within CPG companies, marketing and engineering can be at odds, with marketing working to address sustainability, while engineering would prefer to go down a different path. “Marketing wants the story to show they are sustainable and to reinforce the consumer in that purchase decision,” he says. “Engineering doesn’t want to compromise performance. You need a technology that enables you to satisfy both groups because both groups have legitimate claims.”

That, Jenkins says, is what Eastman’s technology can offer.

Eastman’s technology also has the potential to address the plastic waste problem, Alexander says, by addressing hard-to-recycle plastics or those that don’t have critical mass, which is necessary for cost-effective mechanical recycling. “We are looking at where we have gotten as a global economy with mechanical recycling, and we have the need for a variety of different materials to serve the expectations and the requirements for different applications, and mechanical recycling may not be the solution to get us to where we need to go to create a truly circular economy,” she says.

Alexander says Eastman’s advanced circular recycling offers a viable end-of-life option for some materials that are challenging to recycle manually. “This is a twofold solution for Eastman because this helps us provide end-of-life options for our products that are a little different because we tend to be focused on specialty materials.”

By using this technology, Eastman will be able to create recycled-content feedstocks that its customers are used to using but with the performance, clarity and safety they are used to, she adds.

Sheppard says any polyester material, including textiles, carpet and packaging, is suitable as feedstock for the process. Even multilayer film can be used as feedstock; the nonpolyester material would exit the process as waste, as would dyes and additives.

Investing in change

Eastman is executing an engineering feasibility study on the design and construction of a commercial scale methanolysis facility to meet its customers’ demands. The company says it has engaged in initial discussions with potential partners across the value chain regarding the development of such a facility. Eastman’s goal is to operate a full-scale, circular recycling facility within 24 to 36 months.

Jenkins says Eastman is looking for multiple business partners to co-invest in the construction of this facility to help deleverage some of the associated risk.

The company also is working to secure feedstock sources, Sheppard says. He adds that Eastman is not looking at polyester materials that already have good end-of-life options through mechanical recycling. “To do that, we have to activate a large feed stream that does not exist today.”

Such a stream could include PET scrap that mechanical recyclers generate, such as fines, Alexander says. PET thermoforms or colored material also could be targeted in addition to low-quality polyester scrap that would typically be diverted to landfills.

Alexander says Eastman will tap into different parts of the value chain to secure the feedstock it needs for the process, stressing that the company has no desire to compete with mechanical recyclers for material. “This is a complementary technology to mechanical recycling.”

Finding the right location

Eastman is looking at potential locations for the facility in areas that have the infrastructure and logistics required.

Alexander adds that such a location would be close to the infeed streams used in the process as well as to plastics manufacturing infrastructure. “We don’t know where the right balance will be yet,” she says. “No single location meets all of those criteria today.”

While a number of questions remain to be answered, Sheppard expresses confidence in Eastman’s ability to execute its vision. “I do think we are uniquely positioned to pull this off and be successful.”